Vijay Sethupathi the everyone's nice guy is busy shooting for his movie 'Laabam' co-starring Shruti Haasan in Madurai. There has been a controversy raised by members of various trade unions objecting to his appearance in an advertisement for an online portal Mande aka Mandee. Today protests were made by surrounding VJS's office in Valasaravakkam and the police arrested around 200 people who demanded that the actor should stop the promotions.

An official statement clarifying the issue has been issued by the concerned company that reads

Mandee – Partner to the food commodity industry

Mandee aims to be the partner to all the stakeholders in the food commodity industry and aims to facilitate better trade revenue opportunities through its platform.

November 05, 2019 (Chennai, Tamil Nadu) - Mandee connects all the stakeholders in the food commodity business - farmers, traders, retailers, distributors, super stockists and manufacturers through a single platform. It is a trade made easy using a technology-driven platform. It aims to provide increased demand consistently for sellers and provide access to more options, consistent quality, best price and convenience to buyers. The platform is focused only on Business to Business trading and NOT direct to household.

Mandee is promoted by the founders of Jeyyam brand hailing from Salem, Tamil Nadu, with over 30 years of experience in the food commodity business. Having been in the industry for such a long time, Mandee understands the age-old challenges faced by various stakeholders in the food commodity buying and selling and aims to solve by providing customized solutions to address the pain points. By doing so, they have earned they have earned the trust of thousands of retailers, distributors and traders across Tamil Nadu. The platform (website and the app) has been launched for the benefit of the industry after interacting with farmers, manufacturers, distributors, dealers & retailers and over one and half years of research.

“While this concept of an online Mandee is new, we felt it required a trustworthy face who also shares our care and concern towards farmers and traders – Makkal Selvan, Vijay Sethupathi. He accepted to endorse the brand after meticulously studying the brand, its business model and proof of service. Only when he was convinced that Mandee is for the real benefit for traders and farmers, people coming from a humble trading background, did he decide to engage with Mandee”.

Through this statement, the company clarifies that, “All these allegations leveled against Mandee and Vijay Sethupathi are incorrect and damages made to the celebrity’s fame are unjustified. We request the patrons of the industry to understand the initiate and extend their humble support for the welfare of the industry and the community”.

About Mandee:

Mandee is an online food commodity market that intends to create large scale social & economic impact for all stakeholders in the commodity value chain through technology. Mandee considers Farmer Community, Trader Community, Manufacturer Community, Retailer Community and the Distributor Community as an integral part of the commodity value chain and aims to resolve challenges faced by them in food commodity buying, selling and distribution.

Mandee’s vision is to lead food commerce into the next generation and revolutionize the industry through this innovative business model, technology & efficient operations while providing unmatched experience for its customers.